Resources

Traditional Energy

Conventional Energy

Wood
Field Crops
Fecal Material
Peat

Coal
Oil
Natural Gas
Nuclear

NON-Renewable Resources

What is Peat?
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation
matter and is the first stage in the formation of coal

Peat forms in wetlands, variously called bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires,
and swamps
It contains a large amount of water and must be dried before use
Historically, it has been used as a source of heat and burns with a long flame and
considerable smoke

Where is Peat mined?

Peat deposits are found in many places around the world, notably in Russia,
Ireland, Finland, Scotland, Poland, northern Germany, the Netherlands and
Scandinavia, and in North America

Approximately 60% of the

world's wetlands have peat

Peat
Peat is still mined as a fuel in Ireland and England

The peat is stacked to slowly

dry out

What Are the Advantages and

Disadvantages of Oil?
Conventional oil is currently abundant, has a high
net energy yield, and is relatively inexpensive, but
using it causes air and water pollution and
releases greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.
Heavy oils from oil sand and oil shale exist in
potentially large supplies but have low net energy
yields and higher environmental impacts than
conventional oil has.

Lowest Boiling Point

Gases
Gasoline
Aviation
fuel
Heating
oil
Diesel
oil
Naphtha
Grease and
wax

Heated
crude oil

Asphalt
Furnace

Highest Boiling Point

Fig. 15-4a, p. 375

Who controls the Oil Prices?

OPEC Controls Most of the Worlds Oil
Supplies
13 countries have at least 60% of the worlds
crude oil reserves
Saudi Arabia: 25%
Canada: 15%

Oil production peaks and flow rates to

consumers

The United States Uses Much More Oil

Than It Produces
Produces 9% of the worlds oil
Imports 60% of its oil
About One-fourth of the worlds conventional
oil is controlled by countries that sponsor or
condone terrorism

What are the Advantages

and Disadvantages of Conventional
Oil?

Extraction, processing, and burning of

nonrenewable oil and other fossil fuels
Advantages
Disadvantages

TRADE-OFFS
Conventional Oil
Advantages

Disadvantages

Ample supply for 42

93 years

Need to find
substitutes within
50 years

Low cost

Large government
subsidies

High net energy

yield

Environmental
costs not included
in market price

Easily
transported
within and
between
countries
Low land use
Technology is
well developed
Efficient
distribution
system

Artificially low price

encourages waste
and discourages
search for
alternatives
Pollutes air when
produced and
burned
Releases CO2
when burned
Can cause water
pollution
Fig. 15-6, p. 379

Oil Shale Rock and the Shale Oil

Extracted from It

What Are the Advantages and

Disadvantages of Natural Gas?
Conventional natural gas is more plentiful
than oil, has a high net energy yield and a
fairly low cost, and has the lowest
environmental impact of all fossil fuels.

TRADE-OFFS
Conventional Natural Gas
Advantages
Disadvantages
Ample supplies
High net energy yield
Low cost
Less air pollution
than other fossil
fuels
Lower CO2 emissions
than other fossil fuels
Easily transported by
pipeline
Low land use
Good fuel for fuel
cells, gas turbines,
and motor vehicles

Nonrenewable
resource
Releases CO2 when
burned

Gas turbine Government subsidies

Environmental costs
not included in market
price
Methane (a greenhouse
gas) can leak from
pipelines
Difficult to transfer
from one country to
another
Can be shipped across
ocean only as highly
explosive LNG
Fig. 15-10, p. 382

What is Hydraulic Fracturing?

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a technology
used in drilling for oil and natural gas.

(ohiocitizen.org)

What is Hydraulic Fracturing?

(Propublica.org)

What Are the Advantages and

Disadvantages of Coal?
Conventional coal is very plentiful and has a
high net energy yield and low cost, but it has a
very high environmental impact.
Gaseous and liquid fuels produced from coal
could be plentiful, but they have lower net
energy yields and higher environmental
impacts than conventional coal has.

Waste heat

Coal bunker Turbine

Cooling tower
transfers waste
heat to atmosphere
Generator
Cooling loop

Stack
Pulverizing
mill
Boiler

Condenser

Filter

Toxic ash disposal

Fig. 15-12, p. 383

TRADE-OFFS
Coal
Advantages
Ample supplies (225
900 years)

High net energy yield

Low cost

Well-developed
technology

Air pollution can be

reduced with improved
technology

Disadvantages
Severe land
disturbance, air
pollution, and
water pollution
Severe threat to
human health when
burned
Environmental
costs not included
in market price
Large government
subsidies
High CO2 emissions
when produced and
burned

Radioactive particle
and toxic mercury
emissions
Fig. 15-15, p. 385

What Are the Advantages and

Disadvantages of Nuclear Energy?
Nuclear power has a low environmental
impact and a very low accident risk, but high
costs, a low net energy yield, long-lived
radioactive wastes, vulnerability to sabotage,
and the potential for spreading nuclear
weapons technology have limited its use.

How Does a Nuclear Fission

Reactor Work? (1)
Controlled nuclear fission reaction in a reactor
Light-water reactors

Fueled by uranium ore and packed as pellets

in fuel rods and fuel assemblies
Control rods absorb neutrons

How Does a Nuclear Fission

Reactor Work? (2)
Water is the usual coolant
Containment shell around the core for
protection
Water-filled pools or dry casks for storage of
radioactive spent fuel rod assemblies

Small amounts of
radioactive gases

Uranium
fuel input
(reactor core)

Control rods
Containment
shell
Heat
Waste heat
exchanger
Generator
Turbine
Steam

Hot
coolant
Pump

Pump

Shielding
Pressure vessel

Coolant
Moderator
Coolant
passage

Periodic removal and storage

of radioactive wastes and
spent fuel assemblies

Pump

Pump

Hot
water
output
Cool
water
input

Useful electrical
energy
25%30%
Waste heat

Water Condenser
Periodic removal and
storage of radioactive
liquid wastes

Water source
(river, lake, ocean)

Fig. 15-17, p. 387

What Is the Nuclear Fuel Cycle?

Mine the uranium
Process the uranium to make the fuel

Use it in the reactor

Safely store the radioactive waste
Decommission the reactor

Decommissioning
of reactor

Fuel assemblies

Enrichment
Fuel fabrication
of UF6

Reactor

(conversion of enriched UF6

to UO to UO2 and fabrication
of fuel assemblies)

Conversion
of U3O8
to UF6

Uranium-235 as UF6
Plutonium-239 as
PuO2

Temporary storage of
spent fuel assemblies
underwater or in dry casks

Spent fuel
reprocessing

Low-level radiation
with long half-life

Open fuel cycle today

Recycling of nuclear fuel

Geologic
disposal of
moderate- and
high-level
radioactive
wastes

Fig. 15-19, p. 389

TRADE-OFFS
Conventional Nuclear Fuel Cycle
Advantages

Disadvantages

Large fuel supply

Cannot compete
economically without
huge government
subsidies
Low net energy yield
High environmental
impact (with major
accidents)

Low environmental
impact (without
accidents)
Emits 1/6 as much
CO2 as coal
Moderate land
disruption and water
pollution (without
accidents)

Environmental costs not

included in market price

Moderate land use

No widely acceptable
solution for long-term
storage of radioactive
wastes

Low risk of
accidents because of
multiple safety
systems (except for
Chernobyl-type
reactors)

Risk of catastrophic
accidents

Subject to terrorist attacks

Spreads knowledge and
technology for building
nuclear weapons
Fig. 15-21, p. 391

Will Nuclear Fusion Save Us?

Nuclear fusion is the power of the future and
always will be
Still in the laboratory phase after 50 years of
research and $34 billion dollars
2006: U.S., China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, and
European Union
Will build a large-scale experimental nuclear fusion
reactor by 2040